| PAGE |
| Introduction | xi |
| A short Bibliography | xxi |
| I. The ‘Week’ adopted from the Jews. The Lord’s Day: early notices. The Sabbath (Saturday) perhaps not observed by Christians before the fourth century: varieties in the character of its observance. The word feria applied to ordinary week days: conjectures as to its origin. Wednesdays and Fridays observed as ‘stations,’ or days of fasting | 1 |
| II. Days of the Martyrs. Local observances at the burial places of Martyrs. Early Kalendars: the Bucherian; the Syrian (Arian) Kalendar; the Kalendar of Polemius Silvius; the Carthaginian. The Sacramentary of Leo; the Gregorian Sacramentary. All Saints’ Day; All Souls’ Day. The days of Martyrs the dominant feature in early Kalendars: the Maccabees | 12 |
| III. Origins of the feasts of the Lord’s Nativity and The Epiphany. Festivals associated with the Nativity in early Kalendars | 27 |
| IV. Other commemorations of the Lord. The Circumcision; Passiontide, Holy Week; mimetic character of observances. The Ascension. The Transfiguration. Pentecost | 37 |
| V. Festivals of the Virgin Mary. Hypapante (the Purification), originally a festival of the Lord. The same true of the Annunciation. The Nativity and the Sleep (Dormitio) of the Virgin. The Presentation. The Conception. The epithet ‘Immaculate’ prefixed to the title in 1854. Festivals of the Theotokos in the East | 47 |
| VI. Festivals of Apostles, Evangelists, and other persons named in the New Testament. St Peter and St Paul. St Peter’s Chair,—the Chair at Antioch. St Peter’s Chains. St Andrew. St James the Great. St John: St John before the Latin gate, a Western festival. St Matthew. St Luke. St Mark. St Philip and St James. St Simon and St Jude. St Thomas. St Bartholomew. St John the Baptist; his Nativity, his Decollation. The Conversion of St Paul. St Mary Magdalene. St Barnabas. Eastern commemorations of the Seventy disciples (apostles). Octaves. Vigils | 58 |
| VII. Seasons of preparation and penitence. Advent: varieties in its observance. Lent: its historical development; varieties as to its commencement and its length. Other special times of fasting: the three fasts known in the West as Quadragesima. Rogation days. The Four Seasons (Ember Days). Fasts of Eastern Churches | 76 |
| VIII. Western Kalendars and Martyrologies: Bede, Florus, Ado, Usuard. Old Irish Martyrologies. Value of Kalendars towards ascertaining the dates and origins of liturgical manuscripts. Claves Festorum. The modern Roman Martyrology | 93 |
| IX. Easter and the Moveable Commemorations. Early Paschal controversies. Rule as to the full moon after the vernal equinox. Hippolytus and his cycle: the so-called Cyprianic cycle; Dionysius of Alexandria. Anatolius. The Council of Nicaea and the Easter controversy. Later differences between the computations of Rome and Alexandria. Festal (or Paschal) Letters of the Bishops of Alexandria. Supputatio Romana. Victorius of Aquitaine. Dionysius Exiguus. The Nineteen-year Cycle. The Paschal Limits. The Gregorian Reform. The adoption of the New Style | 104 |
| X. The Kalendar of the Orthodox Church of the East. The Menologies. I. Immoveable Commemorations. The twelve great primary festivals; the four great secondary festivals. The middle class, greater and lesser festivals. The minor festivals, and subdivisions. Explanation of terms used in the Greek Kalendar. II. The Cycle of Sundays, or Dominical Kalendar | 133 |
| Appendix I. The Paschal Question in the Celtic Churches | 146 |
| Appendix II. Note on the Kalendars of the separated Churches of the East | 147 |
| Appendix III. Note on the history of the Kalendar of the Church of England since the Reformation | 149 |
